School Board Member Calls for Colleague’s Resignation

(Memphis) A school board battle has one unified school board member calling for another to resign.

Martavius Jones says school board member David Pickler did not tell the board his company would benefit from a program included in the budget.

Jones claims Pickler’s financial firm made $75,000 as financial advisers on a fund set up for the Tennessee School Boards Association.

The fund was to cover future healthcare costs.

It covers six school boards and two are part of the Memphis and Shelby County’s unified district.

Jones calls it a conflict of interest, “There was ample opportunity for Mr. Pickler to disclose in the July meeting, August, September, October, November meeting, that this transaction had taken place and that it had been done by an employee of his firm.”

But Pickler says he’s done nothing wrong.

He claims the fund was set up for Shelby County Schools before the schools merged.

Pickler says Jones’ actions Tuesday night during a school board meeting were reckless and unprofessional.

Jones disagrees, “Do I need to go to Mr. Pickler in a private manner to conduct the public’s business to say that, ‘you need to disclose this’? The public’s business needs to be conducted in the public not in private.”

Pickler is putting together a formal response to be delivered to the school board soon.

He did not want to comment on camera today.

He says the FBI has looked into this claim in the past but found nothing wrong.